with that? the primaries today, got to watch that tonight, right? martha: we're going to watch it tonight, see how it comes out. we've got jenna and jon, coming up. bill: "happening now" starting now. martha: see you tomorrow. jon good morning to you! i'm jon scott in new york. jenna: hi everybody, i'm jenna lee, here reporting from washington, where it is a big day, and happening right now, primary ascross seven states, just 49 days before midterm elections, with the senate and house both back in session. this is the political nerve center, fox news channel, and we've got very big guests over the next two hours, mover shakers, policymakers om all sides of the aisle. we're going to talk live to mitch mcconnell, lindsey graham, and joe hrao*euberman about the tax cut battle, the outlook for november, and how the president is really doing. plus we're going to take an in depth look at the congressional agenda with congressman mike pence and chris van hollen, and we're

going to focus on the key issue this election season, the economy with jared bernstein, chief economic adviser to vice president biden. jon: "happening now" in our fox news room, we are getting brand new political polls from key battle ground states, plus breaking news is coming in from across the country and around the world, our domestic desk covering the united states, our international desk watching events unfolding around the globe, and our media desk, bringing in all of the video and live pictures for you, 24 hours a day. jenna: well, today is the last big round of primaryies before november, and midterm races heating up in battle ground states across this country. molly henneberg is here with brand new poll numbers for us. le molly. >> reporter: hi jenna. great to have you here in washington with us today, we're thrilled to have you here. fox news is going to have a new round of polls from battle ground states every tuesday up until the midterm elections. this week, one of the most noteworthy results is in the florida senate race.

republican marco rubio is up by 16 points over republican turned independent governor charlie crist. democrat kendrick meek has gotten strong support from president obama and former president bill clinton and is trailing 21 percent. rubio may be benefiting from voter unease over president obama, 54 percent of respondents say they want to repeal the president's health care program and 57 percent don't think the president should be reelected. the republican candidate also is leading in senate races in pennsylvania and ohio. first to pennsylvania. republican pat toomy is leading joe sestak 47-41 percent, with 11 percent undecided. some say they want their vote to register opposition to president obama's policy. and in ohio, republican rob portman what's a seven-point lead over lee fisher, 70 percent of respondents say the votes will be based on national issues than the candidates themselves. going to nevada, majority leader harry reid

is in a nail biter in his reelection bid. it's a statistical dead heat with republican and tea party backed challenger sharron angle. nevada has the nation's worst unemployment rate and 46 percent of voters say they believe president obama's polices have hurt their state's economy. another nail biter in california. usually a very blue democratic 125eu9. but incumbent democratic senator barbara boxer is also in a statistical dead heat with republican carly fiorina, this is a state where president obama won in a landslide in 2008 by 24 points, but now nearly half of voters, 46 percent, do not think he deserves to be reelected. also in california, we just want to give you a snapshot of the governor's race there, republican candidate meg whitman is leading democrat jerry brown by six points. these polls were taken september 11th and surveyed 1000 voteners each of the states. back to you here in d.c. jenna: here in d.c., nice to be here, molly.

interesting numbers there as well. we'll see what happens when people actually show up to the polls and cast their votes. molly henneberg for us in d.c. as well, thanks molly. jon: in california, democratic gubernatorial candidate jerry brown is apologizing to former president bill clinton. brown was caught on camera making a joke about the monica lewinsky scandal, while responding to a new tv ad from republican opponent meg whitman. it features a clip dating back to the 1992 presidential primary, the clintons, claiming brown raised taxes as california governor. >> [inaudible] jon: bill clinton and jerry brown have a rocky history, dating back to those 1992 primary, when brown refused to endorse clinton after he won the party's nomination. jenna:ed midterm primary

season drawing to a close today as voters go to the polls in seven states and the district of columbia. one big issue as it always is is going to be earmarks. bringing home the bacon used to be a selling point for lawmakers, but this year, incumbents find themselves under attack for their pork barrel projects. william la jeunesse is live with the story. hi william. >> reporter: jen kwrarbgsure right. it isn't necessarily a good thing, you know. for many voters, it is a time for incumbents to pay for their since, the since of spending money that we don't have, of wasting money that wasn't theirs. >> government spending and debt are out of control. >> once a -- democrats and republicans alike are taking a beat fog bringing home the bacon. >> not surprising senator shelby loves earmark. sue: i've been against all the earmarks. >> if we want real change in washington, we can't keep sending the same career politicians to represent us. >> counsel the casualties, specter, bennett, mull han,

teahart, mur cow see, hutchison, all known for their earmarking habits. >> i think it's t.a.r.p., stimulus spending, i also think the health care vote is going to have a real impact on peoples' decision making. >> the earmarking of tens of billions or hundreds of billions of dollars for specific members of congress could be the difference between victory or defeat in november. >> senators harry reid, blanche lincoln, patry murray, charles grassley, all incumbents under fire for wasteful federal spending. >> special interests have had their turn. now, it's our turn. >> taxpayers are under against the wall and they are absolutely disgruntled and disgusted with the culture in washington that continues to go on as if nothing is going on. >> there are heavy earmarkers, they're in deep trouble with independent voters and even with some conservative democratic voters who are just so frustrated with runaway spending. >> reporter: so in light of our decifits and ballooning debt, as you

know, jenna, this is not a list of accomplishments that they want to run on, and it is also not about being a republican or a democrat. it's about being in office when the pig got fat. back to you. jenna: good point, will -- william. william la jeunesse in california for us today, thank you very much. jon: voters are now deciding key primary battles in several states, one of the most closely watched n. delaware. it's between republican senate candidates mile castle and christine o'donnell. the gop establishment is backing castle. he's a 9-term congressman. but o'donnell has strong tea party support. so what do primaries like this mean come november? joining us now, npr senior correspondent juan williams, kevin madden is also here, former national press secretary for mitt romney's presidential campaign. kevin, let's start with you. there seems some, i don't know, conventional wisdom if you want to cul it that, that the tea party support will be a huge deal in the primaries, but it won't

amount to much on election day. what do you think about that? >> well, i think it's going to amount to a lot for different candidates across the country, but if you look at delaware as an example, delaware is not really the microcosm of a state that we would look at where we'd see big tea party support generate a lot of enthusiasm or will help a republican in a general election. it's a little bit more of a moderate state, it's got a history of sending republicans to the house and to the senate who are more of a moderate ilk, so in a state like delaware, it's going to have less of an effect in the general election should somebody like christine o'donnell get through the primary process against mike castle. jon: juan, as you well know, the tea party actives, the tea party faithful, are really interested in coming out in something like a republican primary, but in a general election, when democrats are going to be coming out as well, isn't there effect diluted? >> it is. and you've got to also got to factor in that in delaware today, independents

can't vote. there's no crossover. so it's really just among republicans between castle and o'donnell, and of course the republican establishment in the states is all about supporting mike castle, he's a former governor, i think he's nine terms in the house of representatives, so he's well known there, well liked, and their argument s. as you just posited to kevin, that come the general election, castle could win against chris coons, who is a moderate democrat, but they think that christine o'donnell, who has some trouble with tax leans and the like will not be able to prevail in that general election race. jon: what did that, kevin? that's the line that democrats like to spout, that the tea party is prompting the nomination of many right candidates, maybe right of center republican candidates, and that come general election time they're not as electable as someone who is more moderate. >> look, i think even the republicans in delaware would agree that it would be

a challenge to have somebody like christine o'donnell be victorious in a general election in a state like delaware. but if we look at the other states where tea party has actually had a positive effect, places like nevada, places like kentucky, what you have to remember from these tea party con candidates, they are motivated and mobilized by three big issues, the size of government, spending, and deficits. and on those particular issues, they're the leading edge of voter enthusiasm among republican base. so it's going to help a lot of these candidates line sharron angle in nevada and rand paul in a place like kentucky, but the bigger problem is that for democrats is when they start to deride a lot of these tea party candidates, that independent voters who agree with a lot of the tea party voters on spending and deficits and the growth of government, they're turned off by a lot of democrats who tend to dismiss those issues, because it looks like they have a political tin ear on anxieties that are mobilize ago lot of voters. jon: juan, there does seem

to be an antiincumbent mood, a guy like mike castle who's been in congress #ters, he wear that is medal hev stkpwhraoe and remember he voted for things like the bank bailout, so that's idea against him by christine o'donnell and tea party people, but what you open up the door to here, jon, is something of what kevin was referring to, is that the democrats will then be able to in general election say these are extremist candidates, these are people who are at the fringe, and remember, most elections are about the middle, trying to convince independents, middle of the road voters, to come to your side. jon: right. >> that could be a problem. you look here and look at new hampshire, you see the same khaoeupbd of -- kind of dynamics with the problems with the tea party and its internal fight with the gop. jon: we'll be watching it both, thank you both. forty-nine days to decide. you can stay on top of the political developments and there are going to be lot today heading into november's elections, get the new fox news america's election headquarters iphone

app, go to foxnews.com, click on the spotlight section on the home page, right there, you can get all the download details. it is your shortcut to staying abreast of american politics. jenna: investigators may now know what caused two massive wildfires in colorado, destroying dozens of homes and disrupting countless lives. the latest on the developing story, just ahead. plus, the obama administration, putting its best plans forward for the ailing economy and for the most part t. involves more government spending. that is the white house north lawn, the vice president's top adviser there be will in moments. we're going to ask him if it's time to spend or if it's time to save.

jon: "happening now" n. the wide world of entertainment, in the top box, singer george michael, sentenced to eight weeks behind bars for driving under the influence of drugs. he pleaded guilty last month

stkpwhraoeupblgdz middle box, a tribute concert for what would have been john lennon's 70 th*r birthday, the lineup, jack jon browne, cindy lauper. >> pennen pee kr -- cruz is pregnant, she is married to javiere bardette. jenna: president obama is outlining proposals to kick start the economy and create jobs. many involve more spending and that could be a tough sell. money voters are -- many voters are not happy hearing about the decifit amid the crucial elections. joining us, former adviser to joe biden, jared bernstein. great to have you on "happening now". >> nice to be here. jenna: are we in a recovery or are we still in a recession right now? >> that's an official economist question and the official economist will give you the answer, who has yet

to decide. from the president's perspective, call it whatever you want, but with unemployment elevated as high as it is, whatever label you give it, our work is the same. we've got to do what we've done every day since we got here, work on turning this economy around helped to stabilize, pull the economy back from the cliff. it is growing, we have added over 3/4 of a million private sector jobs this year and as the president says every day, that's not enough, we need to build on that momentum with precisely the kinds of programs the president has been leaning into in recent days for middle class families, tax cuts, for small businesses, investment incentives, infrastructure, to get hard hats back on the job. that's the momentum we have. jenna: two years ago you who an op-ed piece where you loosely quoted the bile and the bile has a familiar saying, there's a time to save and a time to spend. in 2008, you said it was a time to spend. right now, is it a time for the government to spend to help the economy, or is it

time for the government to save? >> i think it's a time to balance both of those in much the way that we've proposed. i think the recent announcements of polices of president obama, made last week, a research and development tax cred toeut incentivize businesses that want to expand and hire but face credit constraints, a big increase in the investment in big equipment, infrastructure investment to get the lofty unemployment rolls back, building this economy, in every case, those are paid tpofplt so you're balancing growth against the decifit issue. now, they may not be paid for in the first couple of years. that's important. because we need to make sure this economy is getting the boost it needs. but over the longer run, it's very important to keep that pledge in mind. by the way, the most important thing we have to do right now is hold the line on the tax cuts for the millionaires and billionaires who, frankly, do not need the extra cash relative to extending those

tax cuts for the middle class. we're talking about 2100 bucks for a middle class family and republicans, this week it's the senate, republicans in the senate need to get on board with that policy, to not hold these middle class tax cuts hostage. jenna: on the tax cuts, we have heard obviously from the republicans that are talking about the expiration of the tax cuts for the wealthy and there's that feeling of maybe gridlock in congress over this. why not compromise, even if it's just extending the tax cuts for the wealthy, for a year, like mark zandi says, one of the most respected economists in the world, or extending them for two years, like peter orszag, one of the budget directors for the president. why not compromise, just to make sure that the american public is not hurt by that gridlock? >> you know, jenna, you named two of my favorite economists, but on this point, i strongly disagree with them. anyone who thinks that these tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, costing $700 billion over ten years

-- we were just talking about the importance of getting that long term budget under control, this is a great way to lose control of that, and if you think that an extension of one or two years is going to hold, i think that's very misguided political thinking. you know, the fact is if you want to help this economy grow, you have to emphasize the kinds of polices the president has been stressing on families and the middle class that need the income, on business that is will use the incentives to invest and hire, not on families in the very top of the income skaeu, the millionaires and billionaires who frankly have done pretty well, in some cases very well, and won't use that extra income, $100,000 of tax cuts for millionaires and up. it's a waste of money at a critical time. jenna: we really appreciate you joining us today president we look forward to having more time to talk to you in the future, sir. thank you very much. >> my pleasure, jenna. jon: coming up, more on one of the big controversies that enveloped the nfl this weekend. she has been a sports reporter for years, covering

that league for a mexican television outlet. she says she did not invite what she calls inappropriate behavior and harassment from the new york jets players and staff.

jenna: anti-- prohe protests are enraged by iranian ports on a koran burning in tennessee. some of the protestors screaming down with america, others burning and beating an effigy of president obama. indian police forces moving in to break up the demonstrations. the violence left 13 protestessers and one police officer dead. indian police in the region are ordered to shoot and

kill anyone violating the strict curfew authorities have put in place. it's a developing situation in that part of the world. jon: the owner of the new york jets now apologizing to female sports reporter inze sanz for unprofessional behavior, sanz saying next ryan and others harassed her and bombarded we're with cat calls inside the team locker room, she calls the situation uncomfortable, one that had her dying of embarrassment. she joins us with her story. inez, the controversy erupted in part because you tweeted that, right, you said you were dying of embarrassment. >> yes. jon: but then you went back on television and said, let's see, i want to make clear that in no moment did i even feel offended, much less at risk or in danger while there. >> actually, i need to

explain exactly what happened there. what happened is when i get into the locker room, i start to hear all the noises and everything, and i notice that they are focused on me, but i decide i'm going to make my job, go to the locker room, and wait for them. suddenly, a few approached me and said i'm so sorry about what has happened, it must not happen, so i tried to say no, don't worry, nothing happened, but then -- nothing happened, and i tweet that it's an uncomfortable moment, but i never say to the owner of the jets that i received a bad words or sexual harassment or whatever, i never said that. what happened is that the rest of the media people said take care about this situation. jon: so they turned it into a story. >> yes, about me. jon: there's the outfit you

were wearing to practice, right? jeans and a blouse? >> yes. jon: could they get any tighter, those jeans? >> well, they are my size. i don't know. you look at that, and say okay, the jeans, they fit perfectly, the weight is perfect, everything. i don't think it's bad. jon: we got a statement from the jets. here's what they say. woody johnson, he's a team owner, spoke with ines sainz to discuss the time she spent covering the team yesterday. this was saturday. he stressed to ines he expects all members of the jets organization to conduct themselves in a professional manner at 5u8 tiles -- at all times. is that in essence what he told new. >> exactly. he told me he was very concerned about the subject and he wants to investigate it deeply and if someone needs to be punished, he is assured that someone is going to be punished. also, the security in charge with nfl, they stick with me, they take my statement,

and i really in the hands of them -- i'm only a witness, i'm not the men. jon: what do you want to happen? >> i really don't believe that nothing is going to happen, because i don't even say -- i work, when i go out there in the locker rooms, i never believe that it's going to be a huge -- a way for information. jon: obviously you're going a lot of attention from it, you get a lot of attention from your my space page. wee pulled some of the photos from that as well. are you sure you didn't just kind of bring this on to create some attention for yourself? >> no. i didn't provoke this thing. i never even talk about it. jon: well, you tweeted that you were dying of embarrassment. that's not sulking. >> it started on my tweeter. it started because the media people, they are saying something about me and i feel uncomfortable. they don't even know that i

twitter. so it started in the locker raol and now it got in my twitter so, when i twitter, i say i'm really embarrassed, because she told me that -- she shared all around it's an embarrassing moment, but i'm waiting for do my job, so i think it's not the point. and also, i never do anything that is on the line. jon: two things, you cleared up before the interview began, you never posed nude, you said. >> i never posed nude. jon: and you did not serve as miss spain. >> no. jon: but that's been reported as well. >> no. same name. >> but i'm not her. jon: the nfl is investigating as are the jets. we'll see what happens. ines sainz, thank you. jenna: jon scott, as fashion police. jon, getting into the details of that! >> jon: yeah! jenna: yeah. all right, jon, thank you very much. hurricane igor and julia, now churning through the atlantic. we have amazing satellite

pictures of these storms. and janice dean is going to tell us where they're heading. plus after more than a year in jail, iran releases american hiker sarah shourd, where she is now and when actually she might be on home soil. also the trial begins for a man accused of killing a promising young major league pitcher. hair sis watching that at the breaking news desk. harris. >> reporter: it's brand new to major league baseball and he was pegged to be a rising star. he just pitch the best game of his young career, and nick adenhart was killed hours after that game. now the trial for the man accused of killing him begins today. and wait until you hear what the suspect's defense attorney is saying about the victim, nick adenhart, the baseball star. stay close.

jon: it has the name straight out of a monster move aoefplt let's hope it doesn't turn into one. hurricane igor battling across the atlantic, julia hot on its heels. nasa is just releasing amazing pictures of igor, clearing showing the eye of this category four storm. igor is now pumping out sustained winds near 135 miles an hour as it heads closer to the u.s. meteorologist janice dean, in the fox weather center for us right now, j.d. >> reporter: aren't those pictures from out of space amaze something jon: really are. that eye is incredible. >> reporter: it's unbelievable. this storm is 1200 miles wide, jon.

yesterday we were talking about how this season has just really exploded. we are way above average in terms of main storms, hurricanes and major hurricanes, already three major hurricanes so far. and we're in the peak season. we've still got some time to go. let's take a look. we have a disturbance in the carribean we're still watching, there's igor, 135-mile per hour sustained winds and there is hurricane julia, right on igor's heels, but of course, we are watching igor very closely, and it looks like this storm is strengthening. 135 miles per hour, sustained winds, still makes it a category four and we're still forecasting a major category four storm as we go through the rest of the work week, and then saturday, cat three, category two, but there is bermuda right in the crosshairs of this storm. because this storm is so large, they are certainly going to feel the effects at this point of a hurricane. there are your tropical models that make up that cone of uncertainty and we are pretty certain this is not going to make direct impact on the u.s., but we

are going to see some big waves and some ripcurrents, so people are urged to stay out of the water. just want to show you julia, we're also watching her, she's a minimal hurricane and will continue to be so until friday, but mainly, a fish storm of shipping interests only, which is a good thing. but jon, we still have a few weeks to go in hurricane season. carl could be on its way. jon: carl? >> reporter: carl is the next one. jon: come on. didn't i say it was a quiet season? >> reporter: yes, you did, but i wasn't going to bring that up! i'm not going to blame you for the busy hurricane season. jon: dinner is on me when it's over. thanks, j.d. >> reporter: bye. jenna: opening statements are getting underway in the trial of andrew gallo, accused of killing rookie angels pitcher nick adenhart and two of his friends in a drunk driving crash last year. harris has been working this story. what do we know? >> reporter: right now jenna all the focus seems to be on the defense attorneys because they've got a couple

of things going on. twenty-two-year-old nick adenhart played for the los angeles angels, he was a iraqi -- rookie, he had just pitched a -- six scoreless innings, a game of his very short career, he was out with friends celebrating. three other people in the car, two died along with him, one had very bad injuries, but survived, and the man who was driving the other car, 23-year-old andrew gallo is now accused of driving through the neighborhood, a 35-mile an hour zone at 65 miles an hour and hit thank other car that adenhart was riding in as a passenger and now the defense attorneys for andrew gallo are saying, blaming the victim, saying if it were not for the status of nick adenhart as a big time baseball player and i'm quoting the attorney here, nick adenhart's prominence from popularity, if it were not for all of that my client would not be charged with murder in all of this. what he's saying is that this case has been elevated because of the status of

this mlb player. what we do know that there's disagreement now that is probably going to come out in this trial today, early on as it begins, about the status of the blood alcohol level of the person driving the car that nick adenhart was in. all eyes focused on this defense, what will they say, what will they do and at the heart of it a baseball community there in santa ana, california, missing their own nick adenhart. we'll have to see what happens in this case. we'll be following this. back to you guys. jenna: harris, thank you. jon: a fox news alert for you out of iran, sarah shourd, one of the three american hikers who have been jailed there for more than a year is a free woman right now. her lawyer says she was released on $500,000 bail, and believes me is now with swiss embassy officials. let's check in with amy kellogg who's been covering this story extensively. he's live in london. what's the latest you're hearing there, amy? >> reporter: jon, there's a lot of confusion about what is exactly going on in tehran but we did, in fact,

speak to that lawyer in tehran, he had been with sayre why when she was released from the prison this morning, he said that then she was taken away by swiss and iranian officials, swiss, of course, because there's no u.s. diplomatic representation in iran, and the swiss look after american interests. he believes, jon, that sarah shourd is going to the airport now and she will probably leave tonight, and he said either to oman or aman, jordan, but it would likely be oman because that's a short hop across the gulf and that's where the $500,000 bail that was need to secure her release was sent to an iranian bank in oman and also the lawyer said that sarah shourd's mother is waiting for her now. she is quite well, he said, although she has had medical issues and that's why she is being released. he said that she was very happy, she was smiling, but he said that she really wants now a big push for the other two hikers, shane bauer and josh fattal, to be

released. their sentences have been extended, according to iranian fishes, for two more months at least, jon. jon: amy kellogg, reporting live from london, thank you. >> you're welcome. jenna: let's take you to phil keating, live in pensacola, florida, where a major legal battle is brewing over president obama's health care overhaul. phil. >> reporter: from the 20 states attorneys general who have filed lawsuit against the obama administration, specifically trying to rule that obamacare as it's been known, the affordable care act, is unconstitutional. this is their day in court. the two-hour hearing right here at the u.s. district courthouse. i'll have the details so far, right after the break. jenna: we're looking forward to that. still, also a big runaway gator posing a danger to elementary kids in florida, until some quick thinking deputies saved the day. the amazing details, just ahead.

jenna: hi everybody, i'm

jenna leer from washington, d.c., just steps from the capitol where the house and senate are back in session, both taking place right now and a big battle is going on that could affect your paycheck. plus, it's primary day in seven key states, and right here in the district of columbia as well. how that's all affecting the white house and the president's plans to boost the economy. we have a politically packed show for you, republican senators mitch mcconnell and lindsey graham are on deck, plus we're going to talk live to independent senator joe lieberman, as well as democratic congressman chris van hollen, in charge of keeping dems in control of the house. also, leading republican congressman mike pence of indiana. all up ahead, right here on "happening now". jon: opponents of the health care overhaul are in a florida courtroom right now, arguing the key elements of that law are simply unconstitutional and should be overturned. phil keating is live outside that courthouse in pensacola. so how long have the -- are the argumenting going to go on, phil? >> reporter: jon, just a

few more minutes, really. it started at 9:00 a.m. local time, that's 10:00 a.m. eastern here, and judge roger simpson with the district court in florida gave each side 45 minutes to make their case. early this morning the attorneys general of three states, florida, alabama and utah, as well as representatives of two other states, all walked into the courtroom there, of course, representing an entire total of 20 states here that all called the obama health care reform fact, affordable care act unconstitutional. number one, they say it's a staeugts' right issue, exceeding federal powers, forcing states to extend medicaid, they say that's unconstitutional and also they say an individual's decision not to get health care as is required under the act should not be able to be taxed. >> it's unconstitutional, first of all, for somebody to be sitting home in front of a television set and not doing anything, just sitting there, to be told by the federal government you have

to buy a health insurance policy or get a penalty, there's nothing in the constitution that gives the congress power to tell somebody to do that. >> reporter: the department of justice attorneys inside the courtroom, their saying this is a very interesting and revolutionary argument, using the interstate commerce clause, because they're saying that a person, an individual is an american's decision, there's an estimated 46 million of them, that don't have health insurance now, that their decision not to engage in getting health care insurance, not to engage in interstate commerce, is actually engaging in interstate commerce because the department of justice lawyers say they will eventually have to get health care, and that means they'll end up going to the emergency room and those costs will then be passed on to the providers, the insurance companies and everybody who does have health insurance via higher premiums. jon: pretty astounding when you think about it, the president, the congress, months of work, you know, all kinds of research, the thousand page bill and it all comes down to potentially the decision of one judge. who is that judge?

>> reporter: his name is roger zenson, appointed to federal court in 1983 by then president ronald reagan, he is very probing inside the courtroom today, he's interrupting the attorneys on both sides, asking perhaps unexpected questions. former associates of him who have worked with him praise him for doing a lot of home work, asking a lot of unexpected questions, playing deafit's advocate, but even the judge acknowledges that whatever his ruling is going to be, and it's expected perhaps in days, if not within two weeks, most likely, no matter who loses, it's going to be appealed. in fact, people that support both sides of this case feel that ultimately, this will end up in the u.s. supreme court. jon: it's going to be a wild one to watch. phil keating, thank you for watching it for us. jenna. jenna: well, she's the little girl with the big voice, who now has a giant record deal. >> ♪ >> ♪ 12-year-old isabel

suckling is now the youngest classical artist to sign a major recording contract, universal music is also home to big names like lady gaga, elton john and rolling stones. she was discovered while singing in a cathedral choir in northern eng lan and she's simply going to go as the choir girl, that's how she's going to be known on this label, the first big single will be michael jackson's "you are not alone". i've heard jon sing, jon, you and isabel may be a dueet. jon: i tell you what, i wouldn't even attempt next to that voice. she is really something. coming up, we're going to be talking with independent senator joseph lieberman who got a lot of flack when he left the democratic party, but given the political climate right now, is he relieved to be an independent? we'll ask him, coming up.

jon: a predator gets busted lurking near a school. but not the kind of might think. three florida sheriff's deputies take on a wild alligator. they had called in a trapper to deal with the gator who was just out wandering around, but when it began approaching kids, the department tes had to take matters into their own hands. they teamed up to rope the beast, even handcuffed it. joining us on the phone, deputy michael bard of the pinelis county sheriff's office. she's kids are on their way to school, the crossing guard spots this gator, right? what was the gator doing? >> good morning, jon. y, the gator was what you would call minding his own business, walking down the sidewalk, which is a bit unusual. jon: because of course, gators always do that. >> they get moving around in

the hot weather, looking for bigger habitat, bigger lakes and females. we know how that goes. so --by yeah, it was a little surprising when the call came out, they said a large gator. a large gator to a lot of people is three or 4-foot long. when i pulled up, i see this rather large beast crawling down the sidewalk, it was like okay, i'd better call for backup on this one. jon: yeah, rather large, maybe 8 feet long, as i understand it. >> very close. very close. jon: so you're waiting for the trapper from the state to come get this thing, but then the gator had other ideas. >> correct. the state -- the florida fish and wildlife conservation commission, which regulates this, they had like 50 or so trappers brought to -- throughout the state so you got to figure, you know, they're not usually right around the corner, and they're going to be about an hour or so off, and kids in the area, it was getting daylight, starting to get antsy, people were gathering, we had to take matter spwos our own hands

so, the sergeant decided we'd better do something, we can't wait any longer. here's what happened. jon: somebody roped the gator and one of you guys put handcuffs on it? >> yeah, i'm not sure what photo you have there. jon: we've got the handcuff shot right there. the person has been busted! >> yeah, good comment. yeah, my partner, jess cranial, he put the rope on his neck, it spun around, he got behind it, grabbed it, i grabbed his head, taped his mouth shut, just kind of the reaction when we deal with people hands on, the natural reaction is to reach for the handcuffs, they put it on the back real low, put it over the back and it was subdued, there was not much else it could do. jon: they don't teach thaw in deputy school, do they? >> a little bit. they bring in a little one, it's been many years, just in case you have to deal with it now and then, but as i always said, if it walks, crawls, flies, we're going to deal with it soon other

or -- sooner or later and this is it. jon: i'm sure the kids in the crosswalk are grateful you did. deputy, good job. >> thank you. jenna: that's a story he's going to be telling for many years to come, right? jon, you handcuffed the alligator! who knew. well, speaking of wrangling, turning to politics, house minority leader john pwa*epber says he's ready to vote to extend the bush tax cuts, even if democrats exclude the richest americans. but in the senate, minority leader mitch mcconnell said don't expect gop support for that idea. so is there a battle brewing within the republican party? senator mcconnell joins us live, next.

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jon: hello, happy tuesday. i'm jon scott here in our new york city newsroom. jenna: hi, everybody, i'm jenna lee live in washington d.c.

welcome to another jam-packed political hour on "happening now." voters are heading to the polls in what could be a make-or-break midterm election. there is a whole lot at stake for congress in november when the balance of power could shift. we will be talking live with the democrat involved in those elections, chris van holland. also a live interview with mitch mcconnell as well. we've all heard about the crucial role independent voters will play in this election. how will it effect the independent lawmaker like senator joe lieberman. we are going to ask him live about that as well. jon. jon: over to capitol hill where a big battle is underway now over the soon to expire bush tax cuts, a battle that could pit two key republicans against one another. james rosen is keeping an eye on that live. james. >> reporter: jon and jenna good afternoon. republican lawmakers say their party is unified, they want to

see the bush tax cuts extended to all tax pwr-bgts including the upper ones, democrats say extending the tax cuts to top easterners will effective lee sock our national deficit with an additional $700 billion. this debates unfold as we expect to see senate action on a separate bill that would give approximately $30 billion to encourage lending to small businesses by community banks. the remarks on the senate floor yesterday by the two party leaders made clear that these issues of taxes and lending are very much linked. >> they are holding on to the capital while they wait for us to act. half a million americans who want to work, people ready to get off unemployment and get back to the job that they so desperately had or one that they need are desperate for us to get our act together.

so we need to go to work. >> reporter: democrat. >> democrats sent the last two years putting government in charge of healthcare, car companies, student loans, you name it. now they want the tax cuts to pay for it all. >> reporter: harry reid has his work cut out for him keeping his ducks in a row. two faces to watch democratic senator ben hunter. he thinks a bipartisan bill could emerge here. he says he does not think that a partial extension of the bush tax cuts only to middle class easterners will ever reach the senate floor and if he does he might filibuster anything. a second face to job joseph lieberman of connecticut who caucuses with the democrats.

he has suggested that he might afford a bill that only affords the tax cuts to the middle class. finally, jon and jenna we are seeing some of the usual maneuvering on capitol hill. the question for the democrats is whether to keep referring to this issue or whether to try to rebrand them as obama tax cuts for the middle class. we'll see how that plays out. jon: it's all in the nomenclature, isn't it, james rosen. >> reporter: that's a fancy word, all right. jon: jenna. jenna: right now voters heading to the polls for a final round of primaries in seven states and here in d.c. as well. also in tiny delaware a race with huge national implications testing the power of the tea party at the polls. former republican governor michael castle the longest serving congressman in state history fighting off a spirited challenge from tea party favorite christine o'donnell. carl cameron is live in blooming ton with more on this.

tell us what is happening in del care. >> reporter: it's all about the nomenclature, let's quote jon scott. christine o'donnell has got even a lot of attention from the tea party express. she has run for office a number of times and has not had success. she is up against mike castle who has been fixture in the party for 40 years. christine o'donnell calls her a fiscal conservative. and the tea party express does back her. but so does sarah palin which is a big, big, deal. if you look at the division in the tea party it explains some of christine o'donnell's problems, while she has sarah palin's support she does not have the support of the tea party at large. dick army who is the chairman of freedom works which is an organization that is closely and very influential lee involved with the tea party movement

declined to back her. she's had personal money problems and that seems to have undermined a lot of her support today, so it really matters about the nomenclature, she's tea party express-backed but not tea party backed overall and that could basketball be the difference if she doesn't come up with a win tonight. jenna: interesting one to watch, carl. what you're describing sounds like a dead heat. what do you look for in a situation like this to see who is pulling ahead? >> reporter: not only is it looking like a dead heat, but it's looking like a dead heat where the universe of votes is only about 30,000 ballots, a tiny state with a tiny primary. we spoke with both candidates, and their tone and rhetoric takes a lot. mike castle is embracing the idea that this is a test of him as an establishment moderate against the tea party. no candidate in their right mind embraces a referendum on themselves unless they are confident of victory. listen to this. >> this particular campaign has

become a bit of a test of can the very conservative elements of the republican party take out and i kupl pwapbt with which we don't always agree. that's what we are dealing with here. >> he's saying that the republican party has to resort to republican canniblism. we have the right solution to get our tkphe wack -- economy back on track. >> reporter: what christine owe o'donnell is referring to there is her assertion that the state republican party of delaware has essentially smeared here. the state party endorsed mike castle a longtime ago and has been trying to make sure that she is defeated. this state is predominantly white collar moderate. only a small number of votes cass. it looks like a nailbiter. castle has a better organization, o'donnell has had more buzz.

jenna: sounds like fun, carl, campaign carl cameron for us in delaware today. thank you so much. if you want to hear more from carl and everybody else here at the political team fox news is america's election headquarters on tv, online and also on the go. go to foxnews.com slash hq is your front row seat to politics. jon: and right now we are awaiting president obama in philadelphia. he is set to deliver the second annual back to school speech of his administration. last year you might remember parents protested before the speech worried the president would introduce politics into the classroom. this year teachers' unions are the ones crying foul. wendell goler is live in the city of brotherly love. what are the teachers complaining about. >> reporter: the concern is whether the president's push for education reform and higher teacher standards has compromised his support for teachers themselves, in

particular a 4 billion-dollar federal program that teachers' union officials say encourages failing schools to fire all their teachers to qualify for federal aid. many states have gone that route. the hefd the national education association says that's an approach where no one wins especially the students. the president said after the rhode island firings, if a school continues to fail its students year after year there's got to be accountability. the teachers' union prefer a transformational model where teachers work in collaboration with administrators. the unions didn't invite the president to address the annual convention this summer which he had done twice as a candidate. one union member said he ways afraid mr. obama would be heckled. jon: is he going to address that issue today? >> reporter: not likely. he'd have to depart from his prepared remarks to do so, and he's not likely to depart from his prepared remarks which the

white house releases in advance to reassure the parents that the president is not going to say anything political in this speech. remember this back to school address came during the healthcare debate last year. there was some parents that didn't want their kids to watch the coast to coast feed because they were afraid the president would have political comments in it. they released the text in advance as well. this year the president will say, your future is in your hands, your life is what you make of it and nothing, absolutely nothing is beyond your reach so long as you're willing to dream big, so long as you're willing to work hard. the president will talk about being scolded by his own mother when he slacked off in school. he'll tell the kids, the farther you go in school the farther you'll go in life. jon: thanks. jenna: house minority leader john boehner signaled a compromise in raising taxes for the wealth kwr*e iest.

>> we can't demand that they pay for its own fiscal recklessness. that's why i'm introducing legislation today that even sures that no one in this country will pay higher income taxes next year than they are right now. jenna: senate minority leader mitch mcconnell is here live. he's going to tell us about his plan to block those tax hikes. that's just ahead. [ male announcer ] let's throw down some style. style that lasts a lifetime. what do you say we get the look we want, the soft feel we need, and have it stand up to anything we throw at it. then let's get it installed, and save money on the whole project. we're lowering the cost of going barefoot. more saving. more doing. that's the power of the home depot. get exclusive martha stewart living and platinum plus installed in your whole house for just 37 bucks.

jenna: welcome back to "happening now." harris faulkner i want to draw your attention to outside the bel air estates in beverly hills. benedict canyon is home to beautiful mansions. this video coming in. one of them is on fire. the l.a. city fire department having to breakthrough the roof to get to the flames on this house. it's a two story 8,000-square feet home. here is the deal.

there are 95 firefighters who have responded to this one house. you say why in the world would that be? look at all the brush, and you know southern california, it's the end of the summer, if that stuff catches it could be a brush fire that they could be fighting for weeks. so they brought out everything they had to put this out. right now it looks like it's been contained. but the big problem was trying to reach the flames underneath the tile roof and keep it from spreading. back to you guys. jon: harris, thank you. "happening now" keeping an eye on natural disasters. the top box tracking double trouble in the tropics, hurricane igor could strengthen even more. already it's a powerful category 4 storm. hurricane julia is taking shape behind it in the atlantic. middle box charges could be coming in the colorado wildfires. there is a report that the one near boulder could be sparked by a fire pitt. the other one sparked by

resident burning brush. the bottom box. a 5.2 earthquake rattles the border of arizona. no report of damages or injuries. jenna: republicans are debating the best way to handle the tax cut battle on capitol hill. joining us now is senate minority leader mitch mcconnell of kentucky. nice to see you today. >> glad to be with you. jenna: senator this congressman john boehner is willing or at least open to the idea of compromise, why aren't you? >> let me tell you what ought to be done. we ought not to be raising taxes in the middle of a recession. democrats like to call these tax cuts as if we are doing people a favor. this has been the tax rate for a decade, what they are contemplating doing right now is raising taxes on the top two rates, which they say is just the wealthy. well let me tell you who that is. it's 50% of small business income, 25% of the workforce,

and then we've heard some of our friends on the other side say, well it's just 3% of small businesses. you know how many that is? that's 750,000 small businesses, the biggest job generators in the country with their taxes going up in the middle of a recess. we think that is a terrible idea and we're going to fight it. jenna: senator mcconnell there is no room to compromise, are we understanding you correctly? >> what i'm sailing is -- saying is what ought to be done we ought to continue the current tax rates for all americans. the worst thing you could possibly do would be to be raising taxes on anybody in the middle of what most americans think is a recession. jenna: so, senator, just to be clear, you're not willing to go to the drawing board and try to figure out a way to work with those eye cross the aisle to figure out a way to get tax cuts for at least a portion of the american people? >> what i'm telling you you is there are at least five democrats in the senate and a

growing number of tkep democratn the house that agree with me that we ought not to be raising taxes on anybody in the middle of a recession. that is the smart way to go if we want to have an economic recovery in this country. jenna: the perception is that that's going to start a very big fight in the senate. it seems like everybody is gearing up for a big battle over the tax cuts. are senate republicans better at fighting than they are legislating? >> well this is easily done. all you have to do is simply extend the current tax rates for all americans. it's not a complicated legislative matter, it's easy. just take the tax rate that has applied for the last ten years and make it permanent. that is the single biggest to tal we couldend to t sen private sector that we are not going to raise your taxes, it's okay to start hiring again, and deal with this unemployment problem. we are never going to get out of this with more spending, and more taxes. jenna: senator mcconnell how

long likely is the scenario that this battle could continue, there is no compromise and all the tax cuts expire for all americans? >> well, you know, we can have the debate now, we can have it again in the session after the elections, so-called lame duck, the taxes will go up on everybody at the end of the year. i'm hoping that a bayh part son majority will come to the very responsible conclusion that raising taxes on anybody in the middle of a recession is a terrible idea. jenna: so it's clear you don't want to raise taxes you say for the wealthiest because you say that severely hits small businesses. will you join with the president and democrats who want to pass that $30 billion small business bill through the senate. >> the small business bill just passed the senate unfortunately it has the tarp position in it that allows the government to come in and take equity positions in small businesses. those kind of bail outs are a

bad idea. i ended up voting against it because i don't think we need another bail out. what we need to do is reassure the private sector by not raising their taxes, not having any more onerous regulations on them that they are going to be left alone so they can do their things so they can hire people and create jobs in our jobs starved economy. we are sitting at almost a 10% unemployment rate after the democrats have spent the last two years spending and borrowing and now they want to tax on top of it. the private sector is reacting very badly to that and we need to quit doing that and head in a different direction if we want to get job growth again there this country. jenna: senator real quick here post the midterms we are talking a lot about the idea that the republicans are going to be able to reclaim the house, that is a commonly understood perception at least going into the midterms. what do you think happens to the senate? >> well, you know if the election were tomorrow i'd be the leader of a larger group

than i am right now h. we only have 41 republicans in the senate. i think there is an overwhelming likelihood that woel aoeupb crease our number and i'll be the hrao the leader of the larger group and it will be better for our country. jenna: are you prepared for th that. >> to be the head of a larger group. i'm ready. jenna: we appreciate you joining us today, sir, thank you. >> thank you. jon: fox news alert, it has been one of the worst-kept secrets in washington and now apparently it is being confirmed, the president's spokesman said on board air force one just a moment ago that elizabeth warren is to be named as the interim head of that new consumer protection agency, the official name is the consumer financial protection bureau. that is one of the large accomplishments of the obama administration, one of the agencies that was created as part of that big financial reform plan that the administration believes is a huge achievement of theirs.

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jenna: "happening now" now shall the democratic national committee just launching this new ad, take a look. >> this november john boehner wants to welcome you to boehner

boehner land. jet across the country with lobbyists. team up with wall street to block reform. >> joining us -- jenna: joining us now chris van holland. chairman of the democratic campaign committee. why is john boehner so scary. >> reporter: it's not that john boehner is scary, it's the proposal he's making that given the opportunity as speaker he would enact. i think it's important that people understand exactly what the agenda of john boehner and the washington republicans will be, because it will be a return to the days where the special interests had their way in terms of governing economic policy and we need to continue to make progress. i don't think anybody wants to go back to those days. jenna: a fair amount of americans, though, don't really even know who john boehner is. why the strategy to go after him in particular and not maybe go after the broader policies. >> no it is the policies and he's the one who has been

articulating the policies. he gave a speech in cleveland, ohio not long ago where he said that he wanted to essentially repeal wall street reform. he essentially wants to cancel a whole lot of remaining contracts that have been essentially bid under the recovery bill, which would help take us a step back not forward on the economy, so he's been articulating the republican position on these issues, and it's important that people know what they would get if you had republicans in control of the congress. jenna: there was an interesting article in the "wall street journal" the other day that talked about him as darth boehner saying he was an evil character that everyone wants to see over troerpbgs at least that's the way the democrats were putting it. talk us through the strategy of not talking about the things that democratting are putting forward, healthcare form, the stimulus, if you're just going after one guy are you skirting the issue in not addressing why americans are not happy with the

policies put forward by the democrats. >> let me be clear we are not going against john boehner, we are talking about the issues he's been talking about and the washington republicans. he has called for the repeal of wall street reform. he's talking about repealing some provisions when it comes to healthcare reform like the elimination of allowing insurance companies to discriminate against kids based on preexisting conditions. we are talking about that. he is talking about the republican budget that would essentially do away with medicare as we know it. he tried to privatize social security with george bush, these are all policy issues and the issues that people care about. he's the one who is out there as the spokesman of the republican party on these matters. jenna: there is plenty of speculation about the gop taking back the house after november elections. some say it's a forgone conclusion, others do not. are you prepared for the shift in power. >> it's not going to happen.

i'm very optimistic that as the american people focus on exactly the kind of choice we're talking about here, the choice between contuing the progress we are making on the economy, understanding that we are not out of the woods yet, or going back to the policies that ended up after eight years costing this country over 600,000 private sector jobs. why in the world would you want to go back to the same economic agenda that got us into this mess? and -- jenna: do you think that is really it or do you think the fact that there is nonestablishment movements out there like the tea party who could split the vote, do you think democrats could try it from there versus just the fact that their policies could be more popular with voters. >> i think there is an element of the tea party moving the republican party way to the right. a lot of the congressional district are swing districts decided by the independent voter the moderate voter. to the extent that you have tea party candidates emerging far out of the mainstream, they are going to scare some of those independent and moderate voters but they are going to scare them because of the positions they

are taking on a lot of these issues, like medicare, social security. jenna: congressman do you want to be speaker of the house. >> i have no intention of wanting to be speaker of the house. i'm very focused right now on getting through the midterm 2010 elections. jenna: what are your political ambitions then. >> listen my view of politics is you do the best you can in the job you're in then other opportunities may come up, but right now i'm really folks used on two things, first of all the policy agenda. we are trying to get the small business bill through the senate. it was good to hear from the filibuster the republicans have been engaged in has been broken so we can pass that. that's what it's all about. i think most people who are involved in politics on all sides do it for the right reasons, which is they are interested in policy agenda. that's where we need to be fighting these things out. when it comes to the dnc ad on john boehner the focus really is on going back to a set of economic policies that are driven by big money special

interests, and they had their day for eight years and i don't think people want to go back to that. jenna: congressman van holland we enjoyed having you on set. >> thank you for inviting me to washington. jenna: thank you so much. >> thank you. jenna: jon. jon: jenna we hope to see you back here soon. folks have been devastated by that deadly gas pipeline blast in san bruno. now they are war ring about still active gas lines in their neighborhood. could this thing happen again? and the u.s. congress back in session, so what can actually get done in the 49 days before those midterm elections? we'll ask senator lindsey graham, republican of south carolina. he's up next.

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as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare, get help paying for what medicare doesn't... and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now. jon: seems like every day we're getting dramatic new video of that gas pipeline explosion in san bruno, california, this allly shows it happening. take a look at corp of your screen, the upper lefthand corner of your screen. this is the moment when the gas actually explodes, people go running for cover, including a woman who darts across the street, holding a baby in her arms. meanwhile, residents there are doing the best they can to simply try to put their lives back together after this horrific event. claudia cowen is there for us now in san bruno, california. claudia. >> reporter: jon, more than 60 homes in the neighborhood behind me remain evacuated. they are simply too unsafe

to enter or they are completely gone. yesterday, many of the property owners got a chance to tkpwhoe and see what was left and in many case it is wasn't much, in fact, 37 homes are just completely gone. those who lost everything are getting all kinds of assistance, including hotel rooms, rental cars, food vouchers and now access to some serious cash, pacific gas & electric, the local power company responsible for that gas line that blew up thursday night, setting aside $100 million to help these victims recover. jon. jon: there was a community meeting, i understand, last night? what was the mood like for that? >> reporter: the mood was one of concern and frustration. that's right, dozens of residents met last night with city officials and local lawmakers to try to get some answers, but they say they're not getting the assurances they want, that their neighborhood is safe, or that anyone will really be held accountable in this disaster. many say they didn't understand why it took an hour and 45 minutes to shut off the gas that was feed thank fire. officials saying they were

on scene within minutes, but that they couldn't turn the gas off any quicker because of safety concerns, even so, a number of victims here pointing the finger at pg & e saying they had no idea a high pressure transmission line was running directly underneath their homes and they wonder if it's going to be replaced in the same spot, officials with pg & e saying they may move the line somewhere else but this repair job is just getting going even as state and federal lawmakers are calling for more oversight and tougher inspections of the often aging pipeline systems, not just here in california but across the country. jon: you can understand why those residents are so nervous. claudia caoan, thanks. jenna. jenna: getting closer to november, the battle over tax cuts could play a big role in the midterm elections. we know that for sure. also candidates across the country are wondering how the tea party will impact their campaigns. we're going to discuss both of these things with republican senator lindsey graham of south carolina, he sits on the homeland security committee and

judiciary committee. a very busy time, we thank you for joining us. nice to see you, and congressman van hollen. >> i wished him luck. i think he's going to need it! jenna: you've been known as a republican that has been able to reach across the aye. >> i think that's part of the job up here is to say no to bad ideas and try to find a way forward on common problems. jenna: are you willing then to reach across the aisle when it comes to tax cuts? >> well, on the tax cuts, i think the goal is jobs. tax policy -- does tax policy affect jobs. the answer is yes. if you raise taxes on anybody now, you're going to hurt job growth. there are five senators who want to extend the bush tax cuts. i want to reach across the aisle to come up with a package that allows them to extend the tax cuts and quit paying tax warfare. tax policy is about the global economy. we tax way too much. if you make a million dollars, good for you. 39.6% is too much of anyone's money to take, 35 percent i think is too much, so i'm not interested in raising taxes on anybody.

i'm interested in creating jobs. so i reach across the aisle with democrats who want to extend the tax cuts. jenna: we also know though that tax cuts can't cure everything. >> right. jenna: they're not a panacea for the recession or job growth. what's your additional thoughts on what else we can do? >> first, politician and medicine are the same, do no harm. if you increase taxes now you will harm the ability of the economy to recover. i think we need to do one, free spending, the less money we spend up here, the better our national debt situation will get. if you want to create jobs in the private sector, let's make sure that we don't raise capital gains taxes. if you want corporations to expand, allow people to buy stock at preferential tax rates rather than doubling the stock. jenna: you're talking about the other taxes involved with these tax cuts expiring, it's not just about income tax. >> right. exactly. capital gains tax is a lot of americans rely on that. if you increase capital gains tax, people do less business deals, and the less business deals they do, the harder it is to create jobs. jenna: are you willing to

say okay, well, we'll keep the tax cuts for another year or another two years as a way to bring more democratso on the side of republican? stkpwhraoeu think three years would do us well. we're sort of bottoming out here, bumping along. housing, housing got us in this mess, it's going to take housing to get us out. so i'd like to extend the tax credits for first-time home buyers, i'd like to juice up the economy where we can by really stimulating it. the stimulus package -- >> jenna: isn't that more spend something. >> no, that's investment policy, reward people for buying a house. growing the government doesn't create jobs, it just creates more debt. the stimulus bill that our democratic friends passed missed the mark. we lost 2 1/2 million jobs. if you want to stimulate the economy, keep taxes low, keep people who are unemployed but eventually try to create an entrepreneurial environment in this country. we're the second highest tax nation in the world. tax policy is about keeping jobs in america, tax policy

is about creating jobs and if you expand the tax code, you expand the government's footprint in america, you crowd out the private sector. jenna: a question about the mid terms. we've seen the rise, of course, of the tea party, you've seen that in your own state and you are challenged for not being conservative enough, but how would you define a conservative? >> let's put it this way. ronald reagan did it pretty well, if you agree with me 80 percent of the time, you're my friend. i have a 90 percent lifetime american conservative voting record, i got the hero of the taxpayer award, i'm 100 percent prolife, i've got an a rating with the nra. but i am willing to reach across the eel on immigration, on trying to get a fiscal house in order. i think we need a constitutional amendment to balance the budget. jenna: are you concerned, though, about the tea party potentially taking votes away from republicans, again, splitting the vote and then you see another democratic -- >> i don't think it's going to happen in november. i'm concerned about primaries like delaware could delay, getting mike castle in. it looks bleak there.

i want the coalition. i'd like to have conservative democrats. ronald reagan, they were ronald reagan democrats. jenna: is that possible? >> i think so. there are a lot of democrats who don't like the obama agenda, think i didn't vote for this, there are moderate republicans who are socially liberal but fiscally conservative. let's get all these groups together, the tea party traditional republicans, socially liberal republicans who are fiscally conservative, along with conservative democrats and govern this country. you need all the above. i'm into coalition building, and the tea party an essential part of coalition. jenna: it sounds like a political match.com. getting people together. >> america is about addition, not subtraction. politics is about addition, not subtraction and the tea party has every reason to be angry at the government, we're spending money no one in the future can afford to pay back and we've lost our way when it comes to constitutional limited government, they're right about that, but we got to solve problems like immigration and energy problems, so there's a place to compromise, there's a time to say no.

jenna: interesting. senator, we appreciate you joining us today. senator graham, look forward to you talking about the issues in the future with you as well, sir. >> more to come. jenna: thank you very much. jon. jon: jenna, a moment ago, i called it the worst kept secret in washington and apparently, we jumped the gun. here's what happened. every day, the white house press office has what's called a gaggle where reporters gather around the press secretary and the press secretary announces what kind of news the white house is making that day. when the president is traveling, that happens an ord -- on board air force one. well, that's what happened today, the deputy press secretary bill burton announced that he has nothing to announce on the rumored appointment of elizabeth warren to be head of the consumer financial protection bur oefpl she's the harvard law professor who helped write much of the architecture of that financial protection bureau bill that the democratic majority passed. we took it to mean -- we maybe misheard it, thought he was announcing she would be announced as interim head

of that agency. in fact she is not. the white house is saying elizabeth warren is not, at least not yet, the interim appointment to head that agency. we will keep our ears open and try and tell you if there are further developments. meantime in the middle of a major battle for control of congress, an independent's take on the mid terms, senator joe lieberman joins jenna in washington next. and you can stay on top of the latest political developments heading into november's important mid-term elections with the new fox news america's election headquarters iphone app. if you've got your iphone, go to foxnews.com, get the app download details. it is your shortcut to american politics and boy, does it work well.

megyn: hi everyone, i'm megyn kelly. karl rove with a prediction not just on tonight's primaries in the mid terms but the 2012 presidential race.

and wait until you hear where this is going. plus, she scarce the daylights out of the crimes and nancy grace is going national in a very big waeufplt she's here, live. some conservatives are bashing the tea party for backing candidates in these primaries who they think will win tonight, but who are unlikely to win in the general election. a tea party ref joins me live to respond. an actor from the "40-year-old virgin" is fighting attempted murder charges against him in a dramatic california trial. you will hear him testify directly from the stand in an unbelievable kelly's court. see you top of the hour. jenna: well, right now, time for an independent's take on the midterm election, independent senator and chair of the homeland security committee joe lieberman of connecticut is joining us now and senator lieberman, it was great to see you gys hang out in the green room, all of you politicians, but it must be a time as an independent to think what a relief i'm not with either of these

parties. >> you know, you put it very well! jenna: i mean, do you feel that way? >> you know, this wasn't a voluntary move by me. i got kicked out by the democratic party in the primary, basically because of one issue: iraq. i believed that what president bush was doing in iraq was right for our country, right for the region over there, and i stuck with the policy, and in the old days the parties would have tolerated i think that kind of dissent, but not so. jenna: why not? what's changed? >> you know, i think that -- in both parties, people who feel very strongly about what might be called party orthodoxy, you got to go down the line, have a real influence in primaries, and you could be with the party a lot of the time, but if you disagree on one or two or three issues, people will come out and vote against

you, even if they know that what you're doing, you're doing because you think is right. and it happened to be me in '06, it's happened to bob bennett this year in the republican nomination in utah. jenna: let me ask you about something that's going on amongst democrats. this is a quote coming from congressman john larson, he's a democrat from your district in connecticut. this is what he has to say about you: i think lieberman's auditioning for the republican party. are you? >> well, you know, i'd be singing if i was auditioning. jenna: what would be your song? >> my favorite song, the one i sang during my first campaign for the senate was frank sinatra's "my way". to go back to what you said, i tell you, though, the choice of becoming an independent wasn't voluntary it ultimately, getting reelected as an independent in 2006, god bless the voters in connecticut, was a very liberating moment in my career, because i think the

parties, the two major parties, too often are putting party interests ahead of the national interest. jenna: you're going to have to vote on these issues and when you do it's going to look like you're siding with own side or the other. when it comes to tax cuts, who do you identify with? >> i call every issue as i see it and i think that's the liberty that i feel as an independent, that i don't have to walk down a party line just because some party leader tells me he have to. in the case of taxes, i've taken a position that in this case, agrees more with the republicans, which is we ought to extend all of the so-called bush tax cuts. why? because the economy is so fragile. and i don't think when the economy as uncertain as ours is, so many people unemployed, we should be taking money out of anybody's pockets, including the top income earners, because hey, if you have more money, you're going to spend more money, you're going to invest more money, we need people spending and investing to create jobs in america.

jenna: you know t. sounds like that you enjoy it, you obviously enjoy being an independent. we're seeing the rise of a group that really claims to be endent thinkers, or going back to it, a new idea for d.c., which is the tea party. what's your perception of that group? >> my perception of the tea party is that it's a very natural uprising, nobody planned it for calculating reasons, it expresses a lot of the public frustration with what's happening here in washington, whether i agree with everything they're doing or not doing. you know, if you go to tea party rallies, most of the 350e78 you -- people you see there are not familiar faces at political events, and that's good. these people got so upset that they're getting involved. so look, the fastest growing political party in america is no party. it's the independents. and that's a reflection on the two major parties. and i think independents are going to play a very important role in the elections in november.

at this moment, probably favoring republicans. jenna: we're going to have to run. do you want to sing us some frank sinatra? >> i'll do that next time! take care. jenna: we'll be back withfinish' more.

jenna: joining me now is house republican conference chairman mike pence, joining us in the studio. nice to see you congressman. >> thank you jenna. jenna: let's talk about the tax cuts. congressman boehner came out and said he was willing to compromise, at least give the opening for some compromise in the house. did that change or altar the message you were trying to put forward from the republican party? >> let me be clear, house republican leaders and i think republicans in the house and senate are united in our position, that the

last thing you want to do during the worst economy in 25 years is raise taxes on anybody. what john boehner said in the middle of last week, i think, represents a good faith, bipartisan compromise, we said look, the administration, the democrats, let's cut spending back to 2008 levels, that would save a significant amount of money in a very short period of time, but then, let's do at least a two-year extension on the existing tax relief, from 2001 and 2003. jenna: that would be the point that you'd be willing to compromise as well? >> look, i'd be willing to fight on the issue of whether we raise taxes two years down the road. i just think no american should pace a tax increase in the city or on the farm during the worst economy in 25 years. that's john boehner's position, that's the republican position and we're going to fight for that hard in the coming weeks. jenna: it seems you with very united, as far as talking about these tax cuts and saying you do not want the tax cuts for the wealthy to expire, but what are your

concerns, your real concerns, about being viewed legitimately as the party of no, and slowing down the political process? >> well, look, you know, what we're seeing here with the playing of politics, with john boehner's comments on sunday morning, by the white house, and saying that he changed his -- you know, all of this is just politics as usual. the reality is back in indiana, all over this country, jenna, people are hurting, the economic polices of this administration have failed, and the american people know that not only do we need to preserve existing tax relief, but we ought to be remoteing -- promoting more tax relief to create jobs, but at least let's compromise, let's agree to keep the tax laws where they are today and not allow any business in the city and on the farm to see a tax like in january. jenna: we appreciate you joining us, how do you think notre dame is going to do this year? >> i think they're looking good! jenna: you want to stay away from football and stick with politics.

thank you, we appreciate it. we'll be back with more.